KR20160128331A - Control of polarization and diffractive artifact resolution in retro-imaging systems - Google Patents

Abstract

The polarization state in the retroreflective array can be controlled throughout the optical path of the retroreflective inverse imaging setup to improve system efficiency. The polarizing beam splitter layer and the retarder layer disposed in front of the retroreflective array are arranged such that the polarized light is used as the source and the source input light is effectively reflected from the polarizing beam splitter layer toward the retroreflective layer, And is oriented to be converted into a circular shape. The polarization can also be oriented at 45 [deg.] Or about 45 [deg.] To the input polarization state, and the light can be retro-reflected and re-converged in the retroreflective layer and converted to a linear polarization state. The light may then be rotated about 90 degrees relative to the input linear state and / or pass through the polarization beam splitter layer during the second pass to form a re-converged image.

Description

[0001] CONTROL OF POLARIZATION AND DIFFRACTIVE ARTIFACT RESOLUTION IN RETRO-IMAGING SYSTEMS [0002]

Figure 1 shows the formation of a re-convergent floating image in a retroreflective display system.
2A to 2C show an exemplary formation of a re-convergent floating image according to another embodiment.
FIG. 3A shows an exemplary reverse imaging system configuration with increased efficiency through polarization control.
FIG. 3B is a view showing the definition of 'kite' tiling in a diffraction model for an exemplary case of a ruled-type retroreflective film.
Figure 3c shows an exemplary diffraction bombardment at the resolver using an unmetallized second surface retroreflective array.
FIG. 3D is a diagram showing floating images and surface image states in a transitionable surface and a floating display system.
4 is a view showing a state in a cell at an input polarization band output as a corner cube configuration.
Figures 5A-5I illustrate exemplary polarizing pupil maps for different inputs in the exemplary configuration of Figure 4 when using a non-metalized retroreflective array.
Figure 6 shows an exemplary dual image content generation from one display using a delay-based stereo 3D LCD module.
Figure 7 is a block diagram of an exemplary computing device that may be used for control of a manufacturing system of a retro-reflective imaging system with polarization and diffraction artifact resolution control capability.
Figure 8 shows an exemplary retro-reflective imaging device manufacturing system in accordance with an embodiment.
9 is a logic flow diagram of a method of fabricating a retro-reflective imaging system with polarization and diffraction artifact resolution control capability according to an embodiment.

In some implementations, the use of an uncoated or coated retroreflective array is enabled, while the additional loss of resolution is avoided, and the efficiency of the polarization-based system is increased. To improve the efficiency of the system, the polarization state can be controlled throughout the optical path of the retroreflective inverse imaging setup. For example, linearly polarized input light from a display module may be used with a polarizing beam splitter or retarder disposed in front of the retroreflective array. Layers are used as the source of the polarized light and the source input light is effectively reflected from the splitter towards the retroreflective layer and the polarization passes through the first pass through the retarder layer oriented at < RTI ID = 0.0 > 45 & And the light is reflected back in the retroreflective layer and re-converged, and the reflected light is converted into a linear polarization state to form a re-converged image and rotated 90 degrees to the input linear state and / or the second pass May be oriented to pass through the splitter.

In another embodiment, the metallized coated second surface retroreflective array can be used without impact on the resolve. An uncoated second surface retroreflective array can avoid coating challenges, but as described herein, an appropriate phase correction through the retardation layer of the polarization state control system to avoid impacts on the resolution of the floating image . By controlling the polarization, such an uncoated retroreflective array can be used in a polarization-based system without any additional impact on the resolution beyond the fundamental limitation due only to facet angular error. In another embodiment, two orthogonal polarization states in the source display can be used to achieve a simultaneous view of both the direct view and the floating image of the display panel. Thus, a delay based stereoscopic liquid crystal display (LCD) module can be used.

These and other features will become apparent by reading the following description and referring to the accompanying drawings. In the following description, reference is made to the accompanying drawings which form a part hereof, serve as illustrations, specific embodiments or examples. These aspects may be combined without departing from the spirit or scope of the invention, and other aspects may be utilized and structural changes may be made. The following description is, therefore, not to be construed in a limiting sense.

Figure 1 shows the formation of a re-convergent floating image in a retroreflective display system.

Drawing 100 shows one type of imaging system capable of forming an actual floating image with a large viewing volume or eye box. The reverse imaging system includes a source object light 108 (shown in extension 104 that represents an expanded view of the source object light 108 in plane 124), a half mirror (beam splitter 120), and retroreflective array 122 to provide a floating image. In such a system, the source object light 108 may be partially reflected by the beam splitter 120 towards the retroreflective array 122. A retro-reflective array 122, which may include a plurality of corner cube arrays (also referred to as "CCA"), may reflect the light in a manner that re-converges the light 118. A portion of the light may pass through the half mirror during the second pass to form the re-converged image 118, which may be a 'floating' replica of the source light. The floating copy may be formed from 2D or 3D objects.

In the exemplary system of FIG. 100, three source lights reaching the viewer's eyes 110 as components 112, 114, and 116 are used. The components may be, for example, red, green and blue as the basic components of the RGB colorimetric system. The source light may be on a plane 124 that is described as a source plane, a display plane, or an object plane, depending on the configuration of the system.

The optical path of the system described herein may include optical radiation from an object, first pass light reflected by a beam splitter, light reflected by a retroreflective array, second pass light transmitted through a beam splitter, The system efficiency may be degraded from at least half of the light energy lost in each of the two interactions with the beam splitter, and from any additional losses associated with the retro-reflective array. Thus, a typical retroreflective imaging system may have an efficiency of less than 25%.

According to some embodiments, the polarization state of the retroreflective array can be controlled throughout the optical path of the retro-reflective imaging setup to improve the efficiency of the system. The polarizing beam splitter layer and the retarder layer disposed in front of the retroreflective array are such that the polarized light is used as a source and the source input light is effectively reflected toward the retroreflective layer in the polarizing beam splitter layer, As shown in Fig. The polarized light is also oriented at 45 [deg.] Or nearly 45 [deg.] With respect to the input polarization state, and the light is retroreflected and re-converged in the retroreflective layer and can be converted to the linear polarization state. The light may then be rotated about 90 degrees relative to the input linear state to form a re-converged image, and / or pass through the polarization beam splitter layer during the second pass. In another embodiment, the metallized coated second surface retroreflective array can be used without impact on the resolves. In another embodiment, two orthogonal polarization states in the source display can be used to achieve a simultaneous view of both the direct view and the floating image of the display panel.

Although a configuration with a polarizing beam splitter (PBS) at 45 ° or near 45 ° to the retroreflective layer is used here as an exemplary configuration, 10 deg.) Can provide a similar function. Many retroreflective films can have a decreasing performance due to angle versus diffraction when viewed at non-normal incidence angles. Thus, depending on the viewer's position, the type of retroreflective material, and other factors, an angle other than 45 may also be used.

2A to 2C show an exemplary formation of a re-convergent floating image according to another embodiment.

In a system according to an embodiment, the source input light may be changed from random polarized light to linear polarized light to avoid efficiency loss for each of two passes of the source light through the beam splitter. Further, by replacing the half mirror with the polarization sensitive beam splitter, the input optical polarization state can be selected to be substantially reflected at the initial encounter of the beam splitter. In other implementations, the retarder layer can be introduced in front of or in front of the retroreflector, for example by using a quarter wavelength film as the substrate, and the linearly polarized light can be converted into a circular shape when illuminating the retroreflective array have. The circularly polarized light can then be converted back to linearly polarized light in the second pass, but is orthogonal to the input polarization state. The transformed state allows the light to begin re-converging from the array as well as allowing it to pass through the beam splitter during the second pass through the beam splitter or the " optional " mirror, do. Various orthogonal states may be used in the system to achieve a similar effect.

2A, the linearly polarized input light beam 202 is efficiently reflected by the aligned polarizing beam splitter (PBS) layer 216 towards the retroreflective layer 212 (reflected by the light beam 204) And is converted into circularly polarized light by a first pass through the 1/4 wavelength retarder layer 214. [ The circularly polarized and retroreflected light beam is converted from a circular form to a linearly polarized light rotated by 90 degrees relative to the input state during a second pass through the quarter-wave retarder layer 214 to reach the PBS layer as the light beam 206 . The re-converging light (light beam 206) may be transmitted through PBS layer 216 and polarizer filter 218 (light beam 208).

2B, the retroreflective layer 212, the quarter-wave retarder layer 214, the PBS layer 216 and the polarizer filter 218 function substantially similar to those in the figure 200A do. The source light beam 222 is linearly polarized but rotated by 90 ° relative to the example of FIG. The reflected light beam 224 has the same polarization and rotation as the source light beam 222. The retroreflected light beam 226 and the transmitted light beam 228 also have linear polarization but have a 90 ° rotation relative to the source light beam 222.

In figure 200C diagram 200C an additional retarder layer 220 is used in the PBS layer 216 such that the circularly polarized source light beam 232 is also reflected by the circularly polarized reflected light beam 234, And a transmitted light beam 238, as shown in FIG. As an alternative, a similar simplified configuration in the configuration of FIGS. 2A and 2B and in the complex drawings can be achieved by using a PBS layer in the case of using circular polarization, and the PBS layer is only implemented in a system with only one retarder layer So as to divide the orthogonal polarization state by reflecting one circularly polarized state as far as possible and transmitting another circularly polarized state orthogonal to the first state. A single retarder layer may be implemented in front of the retroreflective array to form a floating display.

The circularly polarized input light beam 232 is efficiently reflected by the aligned circularly polarized beam splitter layer towards the retroreflective layer 212 (shown as a light beam 234) Lt; RTI ID = 0.0 > linearly < / RTI > The linearly polarized and retroreflected light beam may be converted from linear into circularly polarized light that is orthogonal to the input state during a second pass through the quarter-wave retarder layer 214 to reach the PBS layer as the light beam 236 . (Light beam 236) may be transmitted through PBS layer 216 and, in this case, optional circular polarizer filter 218 (light beam 238). The form of the films that more directly divide the circularly polarized light may be used as a separate layer laminated to an optically transparent substrate such as glass or plastic, according to some embodiments.

The retroreflective layer may be formed according to various embodiments using surface metallization, internal or external reflection scenarios, ordering of polymer layers, or optical coatings. For example, a silicon (or other cubic crystal material) wafer can be processed to include a reflective coated first surface, which can then be used as the reflective surface of the retroreflective array. As another example, a reflective coated second surface is formed on the preprocessed wafer, wherein the surface may be laminated or filled with a UV curable clean resin. Substrates of glass, polymer, hardened glass, hard coat epoxy or similar material may also be deposited or laminated onto the resin. The substrate may or may not be birefringent (i.e., coated or laminated with a retarder film), or a birefringent layer laminated between the resin filled layer and the cover substrate or a birefringent layer laminated outside the substrate.

FIG. 3A shows an exemplary reverse imaging system configuration with increased efficiency through polarization control.

An exemplary system illustrated with graphic 300A includes a display module 308 having a substantially polarized (e.g., linear) light output. The polarized display light 306 may follow the display light path 304 and may be directed by the polarizing beam splitter plate 310 disposed at a predetermined angle (e.g., 45 degrees) Reflective layer 302 with a reflective surface. The polarizing beam splitter plate 310 may have an outboard polarizer filter that efficiently reflects the display light 306. As described above, the reflected light is converted into circularly polarized light by the retarder layer, retroreflected, converted back to linearly polarized light, and converted into linearly polarized light by the polarization beam splitter < RTI ID = And may be transmitted through the plate 310.

In embodiments, both metallized and non-metallized retroreflector surfaces can be used, but there may be a trade-off. In the case of a metallized coating, the polarization state can be maintained at the time of reflection and thus allows good control over the state, but metallization is cost-effective in terms of the reflectivity of the metal layer. Although the choice of metal type may reduce losses, there may be feasibility limitations.

By using a non-metalized retroreflector with a polarized input light (second surface type), a retarder layer must be present in the retroreflective layer and properly orientated to avoid or minimize the impact on the resolving of the re-convergent image . This is because the relative amount of light intensity in the cell forming the retroreflective image (or 'kites') can change in many cases, resulting in diffraction artifacts (which can be predicted by a diffraction model) to be. Diffraction artifacts can cause a re-convergence spot or separation of the point spread function (PSF) of the image. Dual splitting through a quarter wave retarder oriented at 45 degrees in the case of a linear input can solve this difficulty, although various splitting effects can be realized by the inaccurate orientation of the retarder layer, Allowing the full resolution allowed to be achieved.

FIG. 3B is a view showing the definition of 'kite' tiling in a diffraction model for an exemplary case of a ruled-type retroreflective film.

The reduced resolution due to the polarization induced diffraction is an additional challenge to the loss of resolving caused by facet angular error of the facet in the retroreflecting cell. Even retroreflective arrays that include facets fabricated at ideal angles and that do not have facet angular error can exhibit strong resolving losses when the polarized light is used without delay correction as described herein. As an example, in the case of a retroreflective array of a managed type, each retroreflective cell includes three facets 324, as indicated by respective solid line outline triangles in figure 300B. Due to the fabrication method, this type of retroreflective array can represent areas where the input light is reflected by the three facets, which constitutes areas where the input light is reflected back. The areas where the light is reflected by less than three facets appear as dark " dead " areas as indicated by the hatched areas 322. [ Within each hexagonal retroreflective region within each retroreflecting cell, the three facets each represent the reflection of a seam between two different facets, so that the reflected seam line, the adjacent seam line between the facets, the edge of the cell, Areas are defined by the boundaries of the edges of the 'dead' zone. These boundaries define 'kite' (326), which is so named because of its shape resembling a kite. There are six 'kerns' in the retroreflective region in each retroreflective cell.

Although each " soft " includes inclined pointing errors due to reflections from the facets with facet angular error and such errors can increase the angular spreading of the re-converging PSF, The use of light may result in additional polarization-induced diffraction artifacts and resolving losses. In such a usage scenario, when the input light is retroreflected, each 'soft' tiling may represent intensity as well as different phase shifts, which is not a feature of the hexagonal retro-reflective region, may cause diffraction of feature size magnitude, thus increasing angular dispersion by polarization induced diffraction artifacts.

Figure 3c shows an exemplary diffraction bombardment at the resolver using an unmetallized second surface retroreflective array.

Using a quarter wavelength retarder layer 214 oriented at 45 degrees to the polarization input light allows both the phase and the intensity of the output from the 'soft' in each cell to be of substantially similar order, Allowing reconstruction of the re-converged image without diffraction artifacts. As an example of the importance of the impact on resolving, figure 300C may be used for the case of images 342, 344 and 346 of a 'point' or PSF as well as images 332, 334 and 336 of text "LOH & Re-convergence image and PSF. Images 332 and 342 illustrate corrections using a quarter-wave retarder layer of about 45 degrees, resulting in a proper image in the re-convergence plane while substantially retaining the resolver. Images 334 and 344 show a correction of about 68 ° where significant impact is applied to the resolver. A correction of approximately 90 degrees (when the retarder layer or the birefringent layer is not used) indicated by the images 336 and 346 results in a substantial loss of resolution.

FIG. 3D is a diagram showing floating images and surface image states in a transitionable surface and a floating display system.

Shape 300D shows the floating image state of the floating display system wherein an image from projector 360 is provided through a selective Fresnel lens 358 to a first divergent diffuser 362 in a diverging state . The divergent light is reflected at the PBS layer 364 disposed at an angle of about 45 degrees with respect to the first switchable diffuser 362. The reflected light passes through the retarder layer 354 and is reflected back from the retroreflective layer 356, which is a quarter wavelength away from the retarder layer 354. The retroreflected light then passes through a PBS layer 364 and a second switchable diffuser 352 behind the PBS layer 364 (which is in a non-diverging state) Display image 366 can be formed.

Shape 300E shows the surface image state of the same floating display system where the image from projector 360 is transmitted to first switching diffuser 362 in the non-diverging state through optional Fresnel lens 358 / RTI > The light passes through the PBS layer 364 and is diverted by the diverting second diffuser 352 to form a surface display image 368 visible to the viewer's eye 370.

The floating display that is hovering above the device can be implemented using a retroreflector and a polarization beam splitter to reproduce the display surface that apparently floats in the air. By using a pair of switchable displays with projected display light having a suitable depth of field, such as optical content from the projector, it is possible to display two display surfaces, one on the flat physical surface and the other on the physical surface A display with a floating second hovering display can be created. Such a device may be used in situations where the use of a multi-layer screen is desirable and intuitively blends classic behavioral and behavioral controls.

Regarding the placement of the physical location of the switchable diffuser, at least one may be below the beam splitter and one directly above or in contact with the beam splitter. It is also possible to arrange a touch panel (capacitive, resistive or other type) as a layer coincident with the physical switchable layer to facilitate interaction with the touch of both the floating image (3D camera) and the physical layer (touch sensor layer) .

Also, sequential switching of three or more layers is possible with some tradeoffs, but at least one switchable layer may be located below the beam splitter for the formation of a floating image. Another alternative is to select two or more floating image planes along the z dimension so that the processed content is selectively selected to be in a divergent state at one time, And may include pixelating. The switchable diffuser layer may include the use of any type of diverter type including polymer dispersed liquid crystal (PDLC), polymer network liquid crystal (PNLC), and the like.

Other forms of divergent divergence that are sensitive to or can maintain a polarization state include using a divergent rotor layer with a passive microlens array having liquid crystals such that the orthogonal state can provide scattering versus scattering . In this regard, one option may include the timing between the switching diffuser layers being switched by the input polarization state and the use of a polarization rotator below the first layer, And the transition of state causes all light to pass through the first layer to be projected onto the physical second layer and the physical second layer has a diverging state aligned with the orthogonal second polarization state, It is possible to switch to the method.

Regardless of the case of a switchable diffuser layer, it is possible to use two or more layers below the splitter to enable two or more floating image layers along the z dimension, and in some cases to use pixelization of the switchable diffuser layer Allowing the convertible diffuser layer to be handled by the content.

The projector may operate at, for example, 120 Hz and alternately project the first video stream and the second video stream. The first diffuser may be synchronized, for example, with a first interleaved video stream showing the application window. This can be a floating image and can be manipulated using behavior. The second diffuser may be synchronized with a second interleaved video stream, which may be, for example, a desktop, and may be interacted using a touch. The user can see a behavior-application window floating in front of the touch-desktop.

In some implementations, a floating display that revolves on a computing device may be implemented using a retroreflector and a beam splitter to reproduce the display surface that apparently floats in the air. The user can interact with the floating display using a behavioral sensor. Such devices may be used in situations where contact with the display surface is undesirable, such as in physical games and public kiosks.

4 is a view showing a state in a cell at an input polarization band output in a corner cube configuration.

The graphic 400 shows an exemplary corner cube reflector 408 through which the input light and reflected light 402 pass through the polarizing beam splitter 406 and the polarizer filter 404 in a pathway that once enters the reflector and once out of the reflector . The effect of the reflection from the PBS (and the polarizer filter) and the transmission in the polarization input light is shown in Figs. 5A to 5I.

Figures 5A-5I illustrate exemplary polarization pupil maps for different inputs in the exemplary configuration of Figure 4;

Figures 500A-500G illustrate various shapes of linearly polarized light, such as vertical polarized light 502, horizontal polarized light 562, and various angles (input polarized light 512, 522, 532, 542, 552) Shows the polarization distribution of the output light beam through the retro-reflector system as described herein for the input optical polarization.

Figures 500H and 500I show the polarization distribution of the output light beam through the retro-reflector system as described herein for the circular input polarized light (input polarized light 572, 582) in the opposite direction.

Figure 6 shows an exemplary dual image content generation from one display using a delay-based stereo 3D LCD module.

The viewer's eye 610 can see the floating image 582 from the set of pixels 606A having one polarization state and the other set of pixels 606B with opposite polarization You can see the display directly. An orthogonal A-B state from passive polarization can be used to generate a stereoscopic display (linear or circular + delayer) in a system configuration including a PBS layer 604 and a retroreflective layer with a retarder 602.

In the case of a display with a circularly polarized light output, another retarder layer may be added for display to convert the light to linear polarized light as input to the PBS. Reflection from the retroreflector can rotate in an orthogonal state so that the applied (double pass) delay can allow light from the reflector to pass through the PBS efficiently during the second pass. As mentioned above, a ' cholesteric ' circular polarizer film can also be used as the PBS layer, and thus only a single retarder layer is required in the case of circular polarization.

As described herein, a retro-reflective imaging system with polarization and diffraction artifact resolution control capability can improve the efficiency of a retro-reflective imaging system, thereby enabling such systems to be used in various applications. In addition, the orthogonal polarization state in the source display can be used to achieve a simultaneous view of both the floating image and the direct view of the display panel.

The examples shown in FIGS. 1-6 have been described with reference to specific systems including specific devices, components, component configurations, and component tasks. Implementations are not limited to systems according to this exemplary configuration. Retroreflective imaging systems with polarization and diffraction artifact resolution control capabilities can be implemented in a configuration that utilizes other types of systems, including specific devices, components, component configurations, and component tasks, in a similar manner using the principles described herein.

Figure 7 is a block diagram of an exemplary computing device that may be used for control of a manufacturing system of a retro-reflective imaging system with polarization and diffraction artifact resolution control capability.

For example, the computing device 700 may be used with a fabrication system of a retro-reflective imaging system having polarization and diffraction artifact resolution control capabilities described herein. As an example of a basic configuration 702, computing device 700 may include one or more processors 704 and system memory 706. Memory bus 708 may be used for communication between processor 704 and system memory 706. The basic configuration 702 is illustrated in FIG. 7 by the components in the internal dashed line.

According to a preferred configuration, the processor 704 may be of any type, including but not limited to a microprocessor (uP), a microcontroller (uC), a digital signal processor (DSP) or any combination thereof. The processor 704 may include one or more levels of cache, such as a level cache memory 712, a processor core 714 and a register 716. [ The processor core 714 may include an arithmetic logic unit (ALU), a floating point unit (FPU), a digital signal processing core (DSP core), or any combination thereof. Memory controller 718 may also be used with processor 704 or, in some implementations, memory controller 718 may be an internal part of processor 704. [

Depending on the preferred configuration, system memory 706 may be of any type, including but not limited to volatile memory (such as RAM), non-volatile memory (ROM, flash memory, etc.), or any combination thereof. The system memory 706 may be any of the following: Windows®, WINDOWS®, WINDOWS® or WINDOWS PHONE® and similar operating systems from Microsoft Corporation, Redmond, Wash. As such, it may include an operating system 720 suitable for controlling the operation of the platform. The system memory 706 may also include a manufacturing application 722, a layer generation module 726, an assembly module 728, and program data 724. The manufacturing application 722 is disposed in front of the retroreflective array and when source light is efficiently reflected from the polarizing beam splitter layer toward the retroreflective layer and polarized light is emitted in a circular fashion at the first pass through the retarder layer It is possible to control various aspects of the manufacture of a retro-reflective system, such as the formation of a polarizing beam splitter layer and a retarder layer oriented to be transformed.

The computing device 700 may have additional features or functionality and may have additional interfaces to facilitate communication between the base configuration 702 and any desired devices and interfaces. For example, the bus / interface controller 730 may be used to facilitate communication between the base configuration 702 and the one or more data storage devices 732 via the storage interface bus 734. [ The data storage device 732 may be one or more removable storage devices 736, one or more non-removable storage devices 738, or a combination thereof. Examples of removable storage and non-removable storage devices include, but are not limited to, magnetic disk devices such as flexible disk drives and hard disk drives (HDD), optical disks such as compact disk (CD) drives or digital versatile disk (DVD) Drives, semiconductor drives (SSDs), and tape drives. Exemplary computer storage media may include volatile and nonvolatile, removable and non-removable media implemented in any method or technology for storage of information such as computer readable instructions, data structures, program modules or other data.

The system memory 706, the removable storage device 736, and the non-removable storage device 738 are examples of computer storage media. Computer storage media includes, but is not limited to, RAM, ROM, EEPROM, flash memory or other memory technology, CD-ROM, digital versatile disks (DVD), semiconductor drives or other optical storage, magnetic cassettes, Disk storage or other magnetic storage devices, or any other medium that can be used to store the desired information and which is accessible by the computing device 700. Any such computer storage media may be a component of computing device 700.

The computing device 700 may also be coupled to various types of interface devices (e.g., one or more output devices 742, one or more peripheral interfaces 744 and one or more communication devices 766) via a bus / interface controller 730 And an interface bus 740 for facilitating communication to the base configuration 702. A portion of the exemplary output device 742 may include a graphics processing unit 748 and an audio processing unit 750 configured to communicate with various external devices, such as a display or speakers, via one or more A / have. One or more exemplary peripheral interfaces 744 may be coupled to input devices (e.g., a keyboard, a mouse, a pen, a voice input device, a touch input device, etc.) via one or more I / O ports 758 or other peripheral devices A serial interface controller 754 or a parallel interface controller 756 configured to communicate with an external device, such as a printer, scanner, etc.). Exemplary communication device 766 may include a network controller 760 arranged to facilitate communication with one or more other computing devices 762 via a network communication link via one or more communication ports 764. [ One or more of the other computing devices 762 may include a server, client equipment and comparable devices.

The network communication link may be an example of a communication medium. Communication media may be embodied by computer readable instructions, data structures, program modules, or other data in a modulated data signal, such as a carrier wave or other transport mechanism, and may include any information delivery media. The "modulated data signal" may be a signal having one or more modulated data signal characteristics set or changed in such a manner as to encode information in the signal. By way of example, and not limitation, communication media may include wired media such as a wired network or direct-wired connection, and wireless media such as acoustic, radio frequency (RF), microwave, infrared (IR) . The term computer-readable media as used herein may include both storage media and communication media.

The computing device 700 may be implemented as part of a general purpose or special server, mainframe, or similar computer including any of the functions described above. The computing device 700 may also be implemented as a personal computer, including both laptop computers and non-laptop computer configurations.

An exemplary implementation also includes a method. These methods may be implemented in any number of ways, including those described in this specification. One such method is by machine operation of devices of the type described in this specification.

Another optional method relates to one or more separate operations of a method performed with one or more human operators performing some of the operations. The human operators do not need to coexist with each other and can only have machines that perform part of the program. Alternatively or additionally, the components or steps described in connection with computing device 700 may be located or performed in a networked computer, e.g., a data center, in a cloud computing environment.

Figure 8 shows an exemplary retro-reflective imaging device manufacturing system in accordance with an embodiment.

According to some implementations, a fabrication system for a retro-reflective imaging system with polarization and diffraction artifact resolution control capability may include a layer generation module 806, a coating module 808, and an assembly module 810. Controller 802 may control and coordinate the operation of various manufacturing modules through wired or wireless communication with the module via, for example, the cloud 804.

The layer generation module 806 may be configured to form various layers of a polarization-controlled retroreflective display system, such as a reflective layer, a PBS layer, and a retarder layer. The reflective layer may be formed as a corner cube array (CCA), which may be, for example, metallized or unmetallized, coated or uncoated. Various types of replication, lamination, molding, cutting and sizing (e.g., milling, grinding, polishing and EDM) can be used in forming various layers with the use of suitable materials.

The coating module 808 can be configured to apply different coatings to improve the reflectivity, reliability and accuracy of the reflective layer and / or the PBS layer. Other fabrication techniques for forming layers, e. G., Reflective layers, may include epitaxial growth, vapor selective epitaxial growth, induction heating, flash steam heating, and cooling fluid, for non-limiting examples.

9 is a logic flow diagram of a method of fabricating a retro-reflective imaging system with polarization and diffraction artifact resolution control capability according to an embodiment. Process 900 may be implemented in a controller of a manufacturing system, such as computing device 700, for example.

Process 900 begins at operation 910 where a reflective layer (e.g., a corner cube array ("CCA") retroreflective array), a PBS layer, and one or more retarder layers are formed.

In operation 920 subsequent to operation 910, the formed layers may be assembled such that polarized source light orthogonally (linear or circular) is transmitted through the PBS layer to form a floating re-converging image. For example, the reflective layer may be disposed substantially perpendicular to the light source and the PBS layer may be disposed at 45 [deg.] Or approximately 45 [deg.] Relative to the reflective layer and the light source. The retarder layer is also attached to the inwardly facing surface of the reflective layer to form a floating image by linearly polarized source light reflected from the PBS layer to the reflective surface and then reflected by orthogonal polarization towards the PBS layer and transmitted through the PBS layer . Similarly, the quadrature of the circularly polarized light can also be reflected to form a re-converged image as described above.

At operation 930 subsequent to operation 920, a second layer of retarder may be attached or formed on the inward surface of the PBS layer such that the circularly polarized source light reflected from the reflective layer is transmitted through the PBS layer to form a re-converged image. Alternatively, a film or layer that can reflect or transmit light directly based on the orthogonal circular polarization state can be used. Thus, a system similar to that formed at operation 920 enables transmission at the second pass through the PBS layer by using such a film as a beam splitter and adding a retarder layer.

The operations included in the process 900 are for illustrative purposes only. Providing a retroreflective imaging system with polarization and diffraction artifact resolution control capability may be implemented by a similar process with fewer steps or more steps, and in a different sequence of operations, using the principles described herein.

According to some embodiments, the retroreflective display comprises a reflective layer at a substantially vertical position relative to the light source, and a reflective layer, wherein the polarized source light from the light source is reflected from the PBS layer to the reflective layer, (PBS) layer disposed such that the reflected light from the PBS layer is transmitted through the PBS layer to form a re-converged image.

According to another embodiment, the PBS layer may be disposed at 45 [deg.] Or near 45 [deg.] Relative to the light source and the reflective layer. The retroreflective display may also include a retarder layer formed on the inward surface of the reflective layer facing the PBS layer. The retarder layer may be a quarter wave retarder layer orientated angularly in the plane of the retarder layer such that the fast axis is about 45 degrees with respect to the polarization of the linearly polarized input light. The retroreflective display may also include a polarizer filter formed on the outward surface of the PBS layer.

According to a further embodiment, the retroreflective display is configured such that the circularly polarized source light is received as circularly polarized reflected light from the reflective surface and is transmitted as linearly polarized light through the PBS layer, But may also include other retarder layers formed on the inward surface of the layer. The retroreflective display may also include a polarizer formed in the light source for converting the randomly polarized source light into linearly polarized source light.

According to yet another embodiment, the reflective surface may be a retro-reflective array. The retroreflective array can be coated or uncoated and can be metallized or nonmetallic. The PBS layer reflects the first circular polarization state such that only one retarder layer is implemented in the retroreflective display and transmits the second circular polarization state orthogonal to the first circular polarization state to produce an orthogonal polarization state of the circularly polarized input light As shown in FIG.

According to another embodiment, the display system comprises at least one light source; A reflective layer at a position substantially perpendicular to said at least one light source; And a polarizing beam splitter (PBS) disposed at 45 [deg.] Or approximately 45 [deg.] Relative to the at least one light source and the reflective layer. Wherein the source light from the at least one light source can be transmitted with two orthogonal polarizations and some of the polarized source light is reflected from the PBS layer to the reflective layer and the reflected light from the reflective layer reflects the re- Lt; RTI ID = 0.0 > PBS < / RTI > Other portions of the source light polarized to the other of the orthogonal polarizations may be transmitted directly through the PBS layer to produce a stereoscopic image.

According to some embodiments, the source light from the one or more light sources is generated to produce two display surfaces, a first display surface corresponding to the physical surface and a second display surface corresponding to the hovering image floating over the physical surface Lt; RTI ID = 0.0 > polarized < / RTI > polarization through a pair of switched diffusers. The first switchable diffuser may be disposed below the PBS layer and the second switchable diffuser may be disposed on or above the outer surface of the PBS layer.

According to another embodiment, the system may include a touch detection layer coinciding with the first switchable diffuser to facilitate interaction with the floating image and the physical surface. The system may also include at least a third switchable diffuser disposed below the PBS layer to enable a plurality of floating images in a separate image plane. The switchable diffuser may be fabricated from a polymer dispersed liquid crystal (PDLC) or a polymer network liquid crystal (PNLC). The system may also include a passive microlens array with liquid crystals and one or more convertible rotor layers to provide selected orthogonal polarization states for scattering. Either or both of the reflective layer and the PBS layer include an inner retarder layer.

According to a further embodiment, a polarization-controlled retroreflective display manufacturing system comprises a layer generating module configured to generate at least one of a retroreflective layer, a retarder layer and a polarizing beam splitter (PBS) layer; A coating module configured to apply a reflective coating to the retroreflective layer; And a polarizing beam splitter for splitting the polarized source light from the PBS layer back into the reflective layer so that the reflected light from the reflective layer having orthogonal polarization with respect to the light source is transmitted through the PBS layer to form a re- An assembly module configured to assemble the layer, the PBS layer, and one or more retarder layers. The manufacturing system may also include a controller configured to coordinate one or more operations of the layer generating module, the coating module and the assembly module.

According to some embodiments, the retroreflective layer may be a corner cube array (CCA), the layer generating module comprising a reflective coating applied directly to the facets of the plurality of corner cube structures; A reflective coating applied over a replicated retroreflective array; Or facets of the plurality of corner-cube structures of the CCA through the facets of the plurality of corner-cube structures that are reflected through the total internal reflection (TIR).

According to some embodiments, the means for producing a polarization-controlled retroreflective display comprises layer generating means configured to generate at least one of a retroreflective layer, a retarder layer, and a polarizing beam splitter (PBS) layer; Coating means configured to apply a reflective coating to the retroreflective layer; And a polarized source light from the light source is reflected from the PBS layer to the reflective layer and the reflected light from the reflective layer having orthogonal polarization to the light source is transmitted through the PBS layer to form a re- Reflective layer, the PBS layer, and one or more retarder layers. The manufacturing means may also include control means configured to adjust one or more operations of the layer generating module, the coating module and the assembly module.

The above specification, examples and data provide a complete description of the manufacture and use of the exemplary embodiments. Although the present invention has been described in language specific to structural features and / or methodological acts, it should be understood that the invention as defined in the appended claims is not necessarily limited to the specific features or acts described above. Rather, the specific features and acts described above are disclosed as exemplary forms and implementations which implement the claims.

The foregoing detailed description illustrates various implementations of devices and / or processes using block diagrams, flow diagrams, and / or examples. Each such function and / or operation in such block diagrams, flowcharts, and / or examples, as such block diagrams, flowcharts and / or embodiments include one or more functions and / or operations, , Software, firmware, or substantially any combination thereof. By way of example, some portions of the invention described herein may be implemented through special purpose integrated circuits (ASICs), field programmable gate arrays (FPGAs), digital signal processors (DSPs), or other integrated formats. However, those skilled in the art will appreciate that some aspects of the implementations described herein may be implemented as one or more computer programs (e.g., as one or more programs running on one or more computer systems), running on one or more computers in whole or in part, (E. G., As one or more programs running on one or more microprocessors), firmware, or substantially any combination thereof, and that the design of the circuit And / or the writing of the code for the software and / or firmware is within the technical knowledge of those skilled in the art in light of the foregoing description.

Claims (12)

In a retroreflective display,
A reflective layer at a position substantially perpendicular to the light source;
A polarizing beam splitter (PBS) layer
/ RTI >
Wherein the PBS layer comprises:
Polarized source light from the light source is reflected from the PBS layer to the reflective layer and reflected light from the reflective layer having orthogonal polarization to the source light is transmitted through the PBS layer to form a re- ≪ / RTI > The retroreflective display of claim 1, further comprising a retarder layer formed on an inwardly facing surface of the reflective layer facing the PBS layer. 3. The retarder of claim 2, wherein the retarder layer comprises one or more of an angularly orientated orientation in the plane of the retarder layer such that a fast axis is about 45 degrees with respect to the polarization of the linearly polarized input light. 4 wavelength retarder layer. The retroreflective display of claim 1, further comprising a polarizer filter formed on an outwardly facing surface of the PBS layer. 5. The polarizing filter of claim 4, wherein the circularly polarized source light is received as circularly polarized reflected light from the reflective surface and is transmitted as linearly polarized light through the PBS layer, A retroreflective display further comprising another retarder layer formed on the inwardly facing surface. The retroreflective display of claim 1, wherein the reflective surface is a retroreflective array. In a display system,
At least one light source;
A reflective layer at a location substantially perpendicular to the at least one light source;
A polarizing beam splitter (PBS) layer disposed at 45 [deg.] Or near 45 [deg.] Relative to the at least one light source and the reflective layer
/ RTI >
Wherein the source light from the at least one light source is transmitted by two orthogonal polarizations,
A portion of the polarized source light is reflected from the PBS layer to the reflective layer, and the reflected light from the reflective layer is transmitted through the PBS layer to form a re-converged image,
And another portion of the source light polarized to another one of the orthogonal polarizations is transmitted directly through the PBS layer to produce a stereoscopic image. 8. The method of claim 7, wherein the source light from the at least one light source comprises two display surfaces, a first display surface corresponding to a physical surface and a second display surface corresponding to a hovering image floating over the physical surface And is transmitted through the pair of divergent diffusers with two orthogonal polarizations. 9. The display system of claim 8, wherein a first switchable diffuser is located below the PBS layer and a second switchable diffuser is located on or above the outer surface of the PBS layer. 9. The display system of claim 8, further comprising at least a third switchable diffuser disposed below the PBS layer to enable a plurality of floating images in a distinct image plane. A polarization-controlled retroreflective display manufacturing system,
A layer generation module configured to generate at least one of a retroreflective layer, a retarder layer, and a polarizing beam splitter (PBS) layer;
A coating module configured to apply a reflective coating to the retroreflective layer;
Wherein the polarized source light from the light source is reflected from the PBS layer to the reflective layer and the reflected light from the reflective layer having orthogonal polarization to the light source is transmitted through the PBS layer to form a re- An assembly module configured to assemble the layer, the PBS layer, and one or more retarder layers;
A controller configured to adjust the operation of at least one of the layer generating module, the coating module and the assembly module,
/ RTI > display system, comprising: 12. The method of claim 11, wherein the retroreflective layer is a corner cube array (CCA)
A reflective coating applied directly to a facet of a plurality of corner cube structures; And
Reflective coating applied over cloned retroreflective array
To generate facets of the facets of the plurality of corner-cube structures of the CCA,
Wherein the facets of the plurality of corner cube structures are reflections rendered through total internal reflection (TIR).

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